Deco inspires Chelsea again

Deco continued his fine start to life in the Barclays Premier League, scoring his second goal in as many games to see Chelsea past Wigan 1-0 at the JJB Stadium.

The Portugal midfielder lashed home a free-kick in the third minute to hand the Blues three points against a resilient Latics side.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's men were a shadow of the side that romped to a 4-0 victory over Portsmouth in last weekend's opener, but with two wins from two the Brazilian coach has already stolen a march on title rivals Arsenal and Manchester United.

Wigan were forced into a late change after goalkeeper Chris Kirkland injured his back in the pre-match warm-up.

Kirkland's late withdrawal saw Mike Pollitt promoted to the starting XI, while Titus Bramble was also handed a recall in place of key defender Paul Scharner who was not in the squad.

An early mix-up between Deco and Michael Ballack gave the hosts a chance to break clear but Wilson Palacios lacked support and the danger soon passed.

Lee Cattermole was penalised just outside the box and, with just three minutes on the clock, Deco curled the ball past a helpless Pollitt.

To their credit, the Latics hit back hard. First Palacios and then Amr Zaki forced Petr Cech into smart saves at his near post, while Antonio Valencia was stretched just too far as he attempted to strike a loose ball from 18 yards.

Joe Cole, putting in one of his less effective displays, was replaced before the hour mark with Salomon Kalou, now back from the Olympics, getting a first chance to impress Scolari.

Substitute Olivier Kapo had Wigan's best chance late on, making Cech dive full stretch to divert a skidding shot just wide of the post.